Stevens and colleagues found that each $1.00 increase in average price of cigarettes was associated with a 6% higher rate of quitting in smokers age ≥50 years living in the United States (1).

Correlation does not mean causality but their results are robust: (i) being based on a cohort (n = 9,446) from 48 states and Washington, DC; (ii) as smoking prevalence largely varies among states because tobacco control policies are mainly promoted at the state or city (by-laws) levels, New York City being a beacon.

The deliberately nonrelevant increase in cigarettes price in France, a weird but genuine policy, allows the revenue service and the tobacco industry to share profits. Indeed, some increases in price were increases in industrial price, not in taxes and only 63% of retail price is excise tax, far from 75% (the World Health Organization benchmark)!